If this summer’s blockbuster film The Avengers taught us anything, is that there’s power in numbers. Thor or Iron Man are good on their own but, when they’re part of a team, they’re great. That team-up mentality is the focus of the latest art show at the Bottleneck Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. It’s called The Gang’s All Here and features art based on films, TV and more where a group of people team up for a cause. Which is actually quite a common story device, once you start thinking about it.

The show opens this Friday, November 16 and features some of the best gallery art we’ve seen in a while. For real. Just one example is a piece we’re happy to debut, Laurent Durieux‘s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a stunning tribute to L. Frank Baum‘s work. But then there’s also stuff centering on Attack the Block, The Lost Boys, Hook, Watchmen, Game of Thrones, Alien, Seven Samurai, Monty Python, Super Troopers, Harry Potter, Star Wars and so much more, all of which focus on a group of people teaming up.

After the jump, check out a huge preview gallery of images and the exclusive reveal of Dureaux’s piece. Read More »

Subtonix decided to create a map of the United States by pinpointing the movies which best represent each of the 50 states. For example, New Jersey is Clerks and Kansas is The Wizard of Oz. There will likely be some debate over some of these choices (is Fast Times at Ridgemont High the ultimate representation of California?) but it is an interesting concept none the less. It’s also interesting to note that more Coen Brothers films appear on the map than any other filmmaker. Hit the jump to see the whole map, and click to enlarge.

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? Some of the best authors will tell you that writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a long one, that you have to weigh every sentence. What better medium to see how this theory plays itself out beyond that than with movie trailers?

Fans of Broken Lizard’s Super Troopers will be glad to know that things are moving along nicely for a sequel. According to Movie Cultists, they have independent financing and are looking to make a deal with Fox as well. Steve Lemme describes the situation as follows:

We’re like, three drafts into it. It’s funny, because we have an independent financier — we have a lot of independent financiers — who are like, ‘Give us that fucking movie.’ And we’re like, ‘We will, we will but we have to go through a studio first.’ But it’s a great thing to go to a studio and say, ‘We have the money.’